Long Story Short

The Only Storytelling Guide You'll Ever Need

By: Margot Leitman

Narrated by: Margot Leitman

This is a practical storytelling guide from comedian, winner of multiple Moth storytelling competitions, and founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade storytelling program Margot Leitman.

Did you ever wish you could tell a story that leaves others spellbound? Storytelling teacher and champion Margot Leitman will show you how! With a fun, irreverent, and infographic approach, this guide breaks a story into concrete components with ways to improve content, structure, emotional impact, and delivery through personal anecdotes, relatable examples, and practical exercises.

©2015 Margot Leitman (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Too long

Had to stop with an hour left. Felt like, "what more could you say??"

Did learn some things, and her performance was great

Average, Not What I was Looking For

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It was ok. It was useful if you're looking for advice on storytelling. I was looking for advice on structuring narrative non-fiction. So it wasn't that the book was bad, it just wasn't ideal for what I wanted.

Has Long Story Short turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, definitely not.

What about Margot Leitman’s performance did you like?

She had a nice, accessible style.

Do you think Long Story Short needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Good not great

Overall the book provides the basics on how to structure a story and outlines important details one can include to give stories life, but I wasn’t a fan of the example stories given.

Most stories that were given as an example contained way too many details and inner monologue. The humor wasn’t funny and it almost seemed “try hard” for lack of better words.

In the end the basic structure helped a little but the value of the book declined with all of the less than helpful stories provided.

How to tell true fun stories about yourself

Fantastic complete course on becoming a master storyteller. Listen to this with a notebook in hand and practice her fun suggestions. As she points out, "everything in life is either a good time or a good story." Chock full of self-deprecating personal stories, this is one of those rare books where there is beautiful harmony between the form and the content. I mean, it is a well-told personal story about telling well-told personal stories. Long Story Short is full of fun and humor, and concise hard-hitting advice from a veteran award winning storyteller and comedian. A must read, even for those who are just curious or want to appreciate the art of listening to well-told stories. And of course, only the author could have read it so well.

Amazing and inspiring!

This books really pumped me up to be a better story teller and made me realized that I could work on bettering myself in other ways. I was so inspired i sign up for her real class in Los Angeles. Class starts January, 2017, I’ll update my review once the class is over but this book is a must read. I want to be able to improve on my interview skills and public speaking at work.